Operators Condemn Violent Passenger Attack on Airlines

Chinedu Eze

The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has condemned the recent violent attacks on airlines by passengers over flight delays and cancellations.
The body said it had observed with serious concern the trend of attacks on airline staff and facilities at the various airports by passengers over the years without abating.

AON, in a statement, signed by its President, Alhaji Yunusa Abdulmunaf of Azman Air; Vice President, Mr. Allen Onyema, Chairman and CEO, Air Peace and all the members of the association said, “We are concerned that these violent attacks have gone on unrestrained across major airports across the country and therefore, strongly and without equivocation, condemn them and call for immediate cessation.

AON said it felt the pain and frustration of travellers over delayed or cancelled flights due to the disruptions to their plans, but emphasised that no airline operator deliberately delays or cancels flights because the aircraft is meant to be in the air and not on ground.

“When aircraft is on ground it is a huge loss to operators and impacts negatively on the economy of our dear country, but airlines could be on ground mostly for safety and so many other reasons outside the control of operators. For this reason, AON has been at the forefront seeking for more effective ways to mitigate factors that cause flight delays and huge economic losses to the country,” the operators said.

AON stressed, however, that it was convinced that the trend of violent attacks on airline staff and facilities had to stop and disclosed that there have been instances where airline staff had been physically injured by passengers and airline property running into millions of naira have also been destroyed by passengers.

“Those airline staff and facilities are not cause of flight delays. They are also human beings, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters etc. working to earn a living and put food on the table for their families. Violent attack on airline staff, occasioning physical harm, is not a civilised and mature way for passengers to register their disappointments over flight delays or cancellations.

“There are better ways to do this which are also spelt out by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in its manuals. Passengers can also pursue their rights through the Consumer Protection Council.

“We are also worried that these violent attacks and destruction of property at our airports go a long way to cause disruption of operations, insinuate lack of adequate security at the airports and further impugn the image of our dear country,” it stated.

AON therefore, called on the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to improve security across the airports especially, as it relates to security of airline staff and property.

“AON will no longer sit back and watch these violent attacks go on unrestrained. Passengers ought also to be informed that airline staff have rights and can use available legal means to enforce those rights and seek redress. Going forward, our members may have to explore this option as no one is permitted by law to take laws into their hands. We therefore call for immediate end this trend,” the body said.

AON reiterated the commitment of its members to do “all that is humanly possible to minimise incidences of flight delays and cancellations.” It stated that it remained focused on on-time flight operations and strongly condemn further violent attacks on airline staff and facilities.”